JP2001275934A - Measuring endoscopic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a measuring method which does not correspond with an optical adapter from being performed, and also improve the operability accompanying the measurement, and increase the examination efficiency. SOLUTION: A connecting section provided at the tip end section of an endoscope is connected to one of a plurality of kinds of optical adapters 37, which are detachable from the connecting section and form the image of an image to be photographed on a photographing element 43, and a measurement is performed by image-processing an image signal of the photographing element 43 in this measuring-endoscopic device. Such a measuring-endoscopic device is equipped with a menu display processing which is selectively operated by the display data which is related to the plurality of optical adapters 37 in advance, and a measurement processing means which performs a measuring process based on the selected result by the menu display processing. By this constitution, when an optical adapter is selected using a selection screen for the optical adapters displayed on an LCD, a measuring method corresponding with the optical adapter is automatically selected, and the measurement can be performed by simply depressing a measurement-performing switch provided on the endoscope-operating section.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a test object (object).
The two types of optical adapters necessary for imaging and measuring are related to the measurement endoscope device that can be attached to and detached from the endoscope body, and the optimal measurement method is automatically selected especially for the attached optical adapter. The present invention relates to a measurement endoscope apparatus capable of improving operability during measurement by being executable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in order to examine an object in detail with an endoscope, it is necessary to measure the object. Various proposals have disclosed measurement means capable of measuring a test object using a mirror.

[0003] For example, a proposal described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-248806 discloses a measurement endoscope apparatus using stereo measurement. Further, in the proposal described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-237419, a length measuring optics for an endoscope which enables a comparative measurement method of projecting an index on an object plane and comparing the projected index with an object and measuring the object. Adapters are shown.

In the former measurement endoscope apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-248806, an optical adapter having two optical systems necessary for imaging an object and performing measurement is provided on the endoscope body. Is detachably provided, images of the two lens systems in the optical adapter are formed on one image sensor, and measurement is performed by image processing using at least the obtained endoscope image. A process of reading information from a recording medium on which optical data is recorded, a process of correcting optical data based on a position error of an imaging system of the endoscope main body, and performing coordinate conversion of an image to be measured based on the corrected optical data. Processing,
It is configured to include a measurement processing unit that performs a process of obtaining three-dimensional coordinates of an arbitrary point by matching two images based on the two images subjected to coordinate conversion.

In the measurement endoscope apparatus having the above configuration, two images of a test object (subject) captured by the image pickup device via the optical adapter are coordinate-transformed and obtained based on two pieces of image information. 3D coordinates of an arbitrary point on the test object are obtained by matching the two images. This makes it possible to realize a measurement endoscope device which is inexpensive and has excellent measurement accuracy.

The above-mentioned measurement endoscope apparatus is a measurement endoscope apparatus mainly for stereo measurement, but when performing normal measurement, a normal optical adapter of one optical system is connected to the same endoscope. It is also possible to attach / detach to the tip and perform normal measurement using the image obtained by this normal optical adapter.

On the other hand, in the latter length measuring optical adapter for endoscope described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-237419, an index is attached to an optical adapter which can be detachably attached to the end of the endoscope body,
By providing a projection optical system for projecting the index, a length measuring optical adapter which can be realized at low cost is formed, and if this length measuring adapter is attached to an endoscope, it becomes a length measuring endoscope (measuring endoscope). A length measuring endoscope which can be used and has a different image or a different viewing direction can be realized at low cost.

[0008]

However, the length measuring optical adapter for an endoscope described in JP-A-60-237419 and the measuring endoscope apparatus described in JP-A-10-248806 are mentioned above. Considering, for example, a case where two types of optical adapters, an optical adapter for stereo measurement and a normal optical adapter for normal measurement, are detachably attached to the endoscope end portion, and these two types of measurements can be executed,
In a measurement endoscope apparatus of this type, conventionally, in a measurement processing program to be executed, for example, a process of displaying a selection menu of an optical adapter and selecting one of the optical adapters and a measurement method switching menu Is displayed, and the two processes of selecting and executing the optimum measurement method for the optical adapter are performed independently. That is, since the selection menu of the optical adapter and the measurement method switching menu are independent of each other, a measurement method that does not support the optical adapter is selected when the measurement of the test object is performed by the measurement endoscope apparatus. In some cases, the measurement performance may be adversely affected. In addition, since the switching of the measurement method is displayed in a menu and selected and executed by the operation of the user, there is a problem that the operation until the measurement is executed is complicated and troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can prevent the execution of a measurement method that is not compatible with an optical adapter, and can execute the measurement corresponding to an optical adapter with a simple operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a measurement endoscope apparatus which can improve operability accompanying measurement and improve examination efficiency by making it possible.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a measuring endoscope apparatus comprising: a connecting portion provided at a distal end portion of an endoscope; An optical adapter and one of the optical adapters are connected, and in a measurement endoscope apparatus that measures an image signal of the imaging device by image processing, display data previously associated with the plurality of optical adapters is used. , A menu display process for performing a selection operation, and measurement processing means for performing a measurement process based on a selection result by the menu display process.

According to the present invention, a connecting portion provided at the end of the endoscope, a plurality of types of optical adapters for forming an image of a subject detachable from the connecting portion on an image sensor, and one of the optical adapters In the measurement endoscope apparatus that connects the two and measures the image signal of the image sensor by image processing, in the display data previously associated with the plurality of optical adapters,
By providing a menu display process for performing a selection operation and a measurement processing unit for performing a measurement process based on a selection result by the menu display process, when an optical adapter is selected, a measurement method corresponding to the optical adapter is automatically performed. When the measurement is executed, the measurement process corresponding to the selected measurement method can be executed only by pressing the measurement execution switch provided in the endoscope operation unit.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First Embodiment: FIGS. 1 to 16 show a first embodiment of a measurement endoscope apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a system configuration of the measurement endoscope apparatus. 2 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of the measurement endoscope apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an endoscope end portion with a stereo measurement adapter, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an endoscope image with a stereo measurement adapter. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an endoscope distal end portion with a normal optical adapter, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an endoscope image with a normal optical adapter, FIG. 9 shows the C
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a remote controller, FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a selection screen of an optical adapter displayed on an LCD, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a stereo measurement adapter. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image of a mask shape, FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a measurement image between two points, FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image for calculating a total length, and FIGS. FIG.

(Configuration) Measurement endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment
0 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope insertion section 11 configured to be detachable with at least two types of optical adapters for stereo measurement and normal measurement, and a control for storing the endoscope insertion section 11 Unit 12 and the measurement endoscope device 10
And a liquid crystal monitor (hereinafter referred to as LCD) for displaying an endoscope image or operation control contents (for example, a processing menu) and the like. 14, a normal endoscope image, or a face mount display (hereinafter referred to as FMD) 17 capable of stereoscopically viewing the endoscope image as a stereo image, and an FMD adapter 18 for supplying image data to the FMD 17 It is comprised including.

Further, the system configuration of the apparatus will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the endoscope insertion section 11 is connected to an endoscope unit 24, and this endoscope unit 24 is mounted in the control unit 12, for example, as shown in FIG. The endoscope unit 24 includes a light source device (not shown) for obtaining illumination light required at the time of imaging, and an electric bending device for electrically bending the endoscope insertion section 11 freely. It is configured.

An imaging signal from the solid-state imaging device 43 (see FIG. 4) at the end of the endoscope insertion section is input to a camera control unit (hereinafter, referred to as CCU) 25. The CCU
The conversion unit 125 converts the supplied image signal into a video signal such as an NTSC signal and supplies the video signal to a main processing circuit group in the control unit 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a main circuit group mounted in the control unit 12 includes a CPU 26, a ROM 27, a RAM 28, a PC card interface for controlling various functions to be executed and operated based on a main program. (Hereinafter referred to as PC card I / F)
30, USB interface (hereinafter referred to as USB I / F) 31, RS-232C interface 119
(Hereinafter, referred to as RS-232CI / F) 29, an audio signal processing circuit 32, and a video signal processing circuit 33.

The RS-232CI / F29 is a CCU.
25, endoscope unit 24 and remote controller 1
3 and the CCU 25 and the endoscope unit 2
Remote controller 1 for controlling the system 4 and instructing operation
3 for performing communication necessary for controlling the operation based on the operation by the user.

The USB I / F 21 is an interface for electrically connecting the control unit 12 to the personal computer 21.
/ F21, the personal computer 21 can also perform various instruction controls such as an endoscopic image display instruction in the controller unit 12 and image processing at the time of measurement. 12. It is possible to input and output control information, data, and the like necessary for various processes between the personal computer 21.

The PC card I / F 30 includes a PC
The MCIA memory card 22 and the compact flash memory card 23 are detachably connected. That is, when any one of the above memory cards is inserted, data such as control processing information and image information stored in the memory card as a recording medium is reproduced under the control of the CPU 26, and the PC card I / F 30 , Or data such as control processing information and image information can be supplied to the memory card via the PC card I / F 30 and recorded.

The video signal processing circuit 33 comprises a CCU 25
CCU so as to display a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing the endoscope image supplied from the PC and the operation menu using graphics.
By synthesizing a video signal from the LCD 25 and a display signal based on an operation menu generated under the control of the CPU 26, performing processing necessary for display on the screen of the LCD 14, and supplying the processed signal to the LCD 14, A composite image of the mirror image and the operation menu is displayed on the LCD 14. It should be noted that the video signal processing circuit 33 can also perform processing for simply displaying an image such as an endoscope image or an operation menu alone.

The audio signal processing circuit 32 includes a microphone 19
An audio signal generated and collected by the CPU and recorded on a recording medium such as a memory card, or an audio signal obtained by reproducing a recording medium such as a memory card is supplied and necessary to reproduce the supplied audio signal. , And outputs it to the speaker 19. Thereby, the audio signal is reproduced by the speaker 19.

The CPU 26 executes a program stored in the ROM 27, controls various circuit sections so as to perform processing according to the purpose, and controls the operation of the entire system.

Next, the configuration of the remote controller 13 and an example of program operation control of the CPU 26 based on the operation thereof will be described with reference to FIG.

The remote controller 13 used in the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has been improved to further improve operability during use such as measurement.

As shown in FIG. 10, the remote controller 13 includes a joystick 47, a lever switch 48,
The freeze switch 49, the store switch 50, and the measurement execution switch 51 are provided at least on the upper surface side by side, that is, an arrangement form that is easy for the user to operate is adopted. In the remote controller 13 having the above configuration, the joystick 47 is a switch for performing a bending operation of the endoscope end portion, and can freely give an operation instruction in any direction of 360 degrees. The lever switch 48 is a switch for performing various menu operations displayed graphically and a pointer operation for performing measurement, and is configured in substantially the same shape as the joystick switch 47. Freeze switch 49
Is a switch used to display the endoscope moving image displayed on the LCD 14 as a still image. When a still image is displayed by pressing the freeze switch 49, the store switch 50
This is a switch used when recording on the CIA memory card 22 (see FIG. 2). The measurement execution switch 5
Reference numeral 1 denotes a switch used when executing measurement software.

The freeze switch 49, the store switch 50, and the measurement execution switch 51 are configured by, for example, an on / off push-down type. Further, functions other than those described above can be assigned to the lever switch 48.

For example, when the lever switch 48 is tilted to the right, the zoom UP function of the image is obtained, and when the lever is tilted to the left, the zoom DO function is performed.
These functions may be assigned to the lever switch 48 so that the WN function can be executed. Normally, when measurement is performed on a zoom image, the measurement cannot be performed correctly because the magnification of the image has changed. In such a case, when the measurement execution switch 51 is pressed, the CPU
The control 26 receives the operation signal, cancels the instantaneous zoom function, controls the image to be frozen, and then executes the measurement. As another method, control may be performed so that the image can be measured as it is in consideration of the zoom magnification.

Next, the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 of the present embodiment
The configuration of the stereo measurement adapter used in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 show a state in which the stereo measurement adapter 37 is attached to the endoscope distal end portion 39. The stereo measurement adapter 37 is connected to the male screw 54 of the endoscope distal end portion 39 by the female screw 53 of the fixing ring 38. It is fixed by screwing.

At the tip of the stereo measurement adapter 37, a pair of illumination lenses 36, two objective lenses 34, and an objective lens 35 are provided. Two objective lenses 3
Reference numerals 4 and 35 form two images on the image pickup device 43 disposed in the endoscope distal end portion 39. The obtained imaging signal is supplied to the CCU 25 via the signal line 43a and the endoscope unit 24 which are electrically connected, and is supplied to the video signal processing circuit 33 after being converted into a video signal by the CCU 25. As a result, for example, an image as shown in FIG.

When performing the stereo measurement, the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment uses the endoscope image shown in FIG. The stereo measurement processing of the object to be measured is performed based on the optical data captured from the flash memory card.

The stereo measurement by the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 includes a first process of reading optical information from a recording medium (for example, a compact flash memory card) on which optical data of the stereo measurement adapter 37 is recorded, and a process of the endoscope. Image sensor 43 at tip 39 and stereo measurement adapter 37
A second process of reading position information of the stereo endoscope and the position information of the main endoscope and the stereo measurement adapter 37 obtained at the time of production.
A fourth process of correcting the optical data from the position error, a fifth process of performing coordinate conversion on an image measured based on the corrected optical data, and matching of two images based on the coordinate-converted image. Sixth for finding arbitrary point three-dimensional coordinates
At least by executing the processing of

The CPU 26 executes, for example, the above-described first to fourth processes once for the stereo measurement adapter 37, and controls the result so as to record the result as measurement environment data on the compact flash memory card 23. Thereafter, when performing the stereo measurement, the CPU 26 controls to load the measurement environment data on the RAM and execute the fifth, sixth, and seventh processes.

The image sensor 43 at the end 39 of the endoscope
In the case of performing the second process of reading the positional information of the optical adapter and the stereo optical adapter 37, the shape of the mask provided on the optical adapter (not shown) is taken in as shown in FIG. It is done by doing. In this case, the capture of the mask shape is performed by capturing a white image (projecting white paper or the like). At this time, the brightness of the white image is determined by the gain of the CCU 25 and the shutter speed.

Normally, the gain of the CCU 25 and the image sensor 4
The shutter speed is automatically controlled so as to be the optimum condition.
The gain of the CU 25 is low, and the shutter speed of the image sensor 43 tends to be set high. As a result, the image becomes dark and the mask shape cannot be clearly taken, which adversely affects the measurement accuracy. Therefore, in the present embodiment, CC
C to fix the gain and shutter speed of U25
The control is performed by the PU 26. Thus, the shape of the mask can be reliably captured, and the measurement accuracy does not decrease.

The measurement environment data includes a coordinate table, and the coordinate conversion table has a data amount of, for example, 12 Mbytes. When three stereo measurement adapters are registered, the capacity becomes 3 × 12 Mbytes = 36 Mbytes. Conventionally, the measurement environment data having such a large data amount is recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a flash ROM mounted on the system. However, a user who does not perform stereo measurement does not need the recording medium, but there is an inconvenience that the user has to buy an expensive system with the addition of the recording medium.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the environmental data is stored in a removable compact flash memory card 23.
By controlling to record on the upper part, for example, if a user who does not perform stereo measurement selects a system in which the compact flash memory card 23 is not mounted, it is possible to reduce the burden of cost. Further, when the stereo measurement becomes necessary, if the compact flash memory card 23 is additionally mounted, there is also the convenience that the stereo measurement can be easily performed.

Further, in this embodiment, the stored image is recorded by the PCMCIA under the control of the CPU 26.
It is performed on the memory card 22 and is controlled to record the measurement environment data on a memory card different from the compact flash memory card 23 for recording. Normally, the PCMCIA memory card 22 on which an image is recorded is generally replaced with another PCMCIA memory card when the capacity is full. Therefore, as in this embodiment, the measurement environment and the recording of the image are stored in separate memories. By controlling the recording environment to be recorded on each card, it is possible to easily manage the measurement environment. In this embodiment, the PCMCIA memory card 2
2 or the configuration using the compact flash memory card 23 has been described.
It is needless to say that the same effect can be obtained even when two memory cards 22 are used or another removable recording medium (for example, a flexible disk) is used.

Next, the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 of the present embodiment
The configuration of the ordinary optical adapter used in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 6 and 7 show the normal optical adapter 42 and the
The normal optical adapter 42 is fixed by being screwed into a male screw 54 of the endoscope distal end portion 39 by a female screw 53 of a fixing ring 38.

Also, the tip of the optical adapter 42 is usually
A pair of illumination lenses 41 and an objective lens 40 are provided. The objective lens 40 forms an image on an image pickup device 43 provided in the endoscope distal end portion 39. The obtained imaging signal is supplied to the CCU 25 via the signal line 43a and the endoscope unit 24, which are electrically connected in the same manner as the stereo measurement adapter 37, and is converted into a video signal by the CCU 25. By being supplied to the signal processing circuit 33, as a result, for example, an image as shown in FIG.
Displayed on CD14.

The measurement endoscope apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment normally performs measurement using an optical adapter by using a method based on comparative measurement. That is, the comparative measurement is a method of measuring based on the known dimensions in the screen.

For example, if the diameter of the circle shown in FIG. 8 is known, the pointer is placed at both ends of the diameter of the circle and the length L145 between two points is input. Dimension L2 46 you want to know
Is calculated as a ratio from the size of L1 on the screen by arithmetic processing by the CPU 26. At this time, the distortion is corrected based on the information of the distortion characteristics of the lens, and the adjustment is performed so as to obtain the dimension more accurately.
The distortion characteristic of the lens is recorded in the ROM 27 in advance, and the CPU 26 performs the comparison measurement by loading the data corresponding to the selected ordinary optical adapter 42 into the RAM 2.

(Operation) Next, an example of a control operation which is a feature of the CPU 26 of the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Now, the power of the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 shown in FIG.
Shall be used. Then, the CPU 26 executes the main program (see FIG. 9A), and proceeds to step S10.
0, S101, S102, S103, and S109 are in a standby state by a loop configured by the determination processing. When the functions of steps S100, S101, and S102 are instructed, the processing shifts to the processing of each function, and the processing of S103 is performed.
When the function is designated, the process proceeds to step S104.

In the determination processing in step S103, the setting of the optical adapter to be attached to the endoscope distal end portion 39 and the presence or absence of the optical adapter are determined. If the optical adapter has not been set, the process proceeds to step S108. It is determined whether or not the processing has been completed in the processing described above. If it is determined that the processing has been completed, the processing is completed. If not, the processing returns to step S100.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S103 that the optical adapter has been attached to the endoscope distal end portion 39 and that the attached optical adapter has been set, the process proceeds to step S104. In other words, the process shifts to the determination process of step S104, and the optical adapter enters a state of waiting for input of a setting function.

For example, when any of the optical adapters is attached to the endoscope distal end portion 39, the CPU 26 calls the setting function of the optical adapter and executes the processing at step S.
The process proceeds to 104, and a display signal of an optical adapter selection screen based on the setting function of the optical adapter is generated by the processing and supplied to the video signal processing circuit 33 (see FIG. 2). Is displayed as shown in FIG. In other words, the selection screen of this optical adapter is, for example, a stereo measurement adapter A
AT12 which is T60D / 60D and normal optical adapter
0D and AT60D are displayed on the screen. The user moves the optical adapter currently used by moving the cursor displayed on the screen (not shown) with the lever switch 48 while viewing the selection screen. To select.

Thereafter, the CPU 26 proceeds to the next step S1.
05, it is determined whether the optical adapter selected by the user is a normal optical adapter,
If it is a normal optical adapter, the process proceeds to step S10.
In step S6, the comparison measurement flag is set to 1 and the process is performed in step S
The process proceeds to step S107, and if not, the process proceeds to step S107.

In step S107, the CPU 26 determines whether or not the optical adapter selected by the user is a stereo measurement adapter. If the optical adapter is a stereo measurement adapter, the CPU 26 performs stereo measurement in the subsequent step S108. With the flag set to 1, the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 is set to a standby state until the user presses the measurement execution switch 51 of the remote controller 13, and the standby state is similarly set when the stereoscopic adapter is not used. To control.

Thereafter, when the measurement execution switch 51 of the remote controller 13 is pressed by the user,
The CPU 26 executes the program of the routine shown in FIG. 9B, that is, detects the depression of the measurement execution switch (described as a measurement execution key) 51 in the process of step S110, and executes the determination process of step S111. It is determined whether or not the stereo measurement flag is 1, and if it is 1, it is determined that stereo measurement is to be performed, and the following step S
In the process of 112, control is performed so as to execute the above-described stereo measurement process, and when the stereo measurement is completed, the apparatus 10 is put into a standby state in preparation for displaying the measurement result or performing another measurement.

If the stereo measurement flag is not 1 in the judgment processing in step S111, it is determined in the following judgment processing in step S113 whether or not the comparison measurement flag is 1. In the process of step S114 following determination that normal comparison measurement is to be performed, control is performed so as to execute the above-described comparison measurement, and when the comparison measurement is completed, the measurement result is displayed as described above, or The apparatus 10 is set in a standby state in preparation for another measurement.
On the other hand, if the comparison result flag is not 1 in the process of step S113, the process returns to step S111 or step S103 shown in the routine of FIG. 9A, and again confirms the settings necessary for the execution of measurement. Control to do.

That is, in this embodiment, the measurement execution switch 51 of the remote controller is turned on as described above.
Then, the measurement program corresponding to the flag is executed, that is, by pressing the measurement execution switch 51, the measurement method corresponding to the optical adapter automatically attached can be executed.

The measurement endoscope apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment
Has also been improved with respect to the measurement method to be executed in order to improve measurement accuracy and efficiency. Such a measuring method will be described with reference to FIGS. The conventional measurement program includes, for example, a measurement process for measuring the length between two points A and B of the two-point measurement image shown in FIG. However, when the surface of the test object has damage such as the classic 55 in a curved shape as shown in FIG. 13, for example, the distance is measured by a straight line connecting the start point and the end point of the curve, or along the curve. The measurement efficiency was poor because the measurement between two points was repeated.

Therefore, the measurement endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment
0, for example, A, B,
When three or more points such as C and D are designated, a processing means is provided for measuring so as to obtain the total length starting from the line segment up to that point, ie, A. This makes it possible to further improve the inspection efficiency. Note that such measurement processing means is adapted to be applied to stereo measurement and comparative measurement.

As a measuring method, it is important to obtain not only the length of the test object but also the area. Correspondingly, the conventional measurement program includes a measurement process for measuring the depth based on the surface of the object to be inspected, in addition to the measurement process for measuring the length between two points as described above. I was However, the area of the rotting part on the surface of the test object could not be measured.

Therefore, in the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of points A to G are designated on the screen as shown in FIG. 15, the points are sequentially connected by line segments, and A processing means is provided for measuring so as to obtain the area of the enclosed portion when the portion enclosed by the line segment is closed. As an actual operation procedure, as shown in FIG. 15, when a plurality of points A to G are designated, points are sequentially connected by line segments, and then the line segments are closed, for example, the first drawn line is drawn. Point H is designated to intersect line segment AB. Along with this, the measurement processing program performs processing so as to close the line segment with the point closest to the point H shown in FIG. 15 as the final point (point A in the figure). Next, calculation processing is performed so that the closed figure is replaced with a set of a plurality of triangles, and the total area is obtained by summing the areas of the triangles.
Note that such a measurement processing means is adapted to be applied to stereo measurement and comparative measurement.

Therefore, by employing the above-described measurement processing methods, it is possible to improve measurement accuracy and efficiency.

(Effects) Therefore, according to the present embodiment, once the optical adapter is selected when the optical adapter is mounted, the measurement program suitable for the mounted optical adapter can be obtained simply by pressing the measurement execution switch. Is automatically and immediately executed, so that the measurement can be performed more efficiently than before, and the operation associated with the measurement can be performed easily. This eliminates the risk of executing a measurement method that is different from that of the optical adapter, and it is also possible to reliably and correctly measure the inspection object.

Second Embodiment: (Configuration) In this embodiment, in order to more quickly execute the optimum measurement method, the measurement is performed by the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 of the first embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that the program has been improved.

More specifically, the measurement is not executed from the measurement execution switch 51 but is executed from the menu in the program under the control of the CPU 26 of the measurement endoscope apparatus 10. In other words, as the program executed by the CPU 26, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 9A implemented in the first embodiment, the processing for executing the function 1 of step S100 includes
The measurement execution routine shown in FIG. 9B (step S110)
(Excluding the processing of (1)).

The other configuration is substantially the same as that of the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 of the first embodiment.

(Operation) In this embodiment, the operation is substantially the same as that of the measurement endoscope apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, but in the measurement endoscope apparatus of the present embodiment, When the power is turned on and measurement is to be performed, CPU 2
6 is instantaneous step S1 of the routine shown in FIG.
11 is executed, and thereafter, control is performed so as to execute stereo measurement or comparison measurement as in the first embodiment. Other operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

(Effects) Therefore, according to the present embodiment, in addition to obtaining the same effects as those of the first embodiment, the operation procedure involved in the measurement can be further simplified, and the measurement can be performed. Can be performed instantaneously. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the present invention is also applied to combinations and applications of the embodiments.

[Additional Item] (Additional Item 1) A connecting portion provided at the end of the endoscope, a plurality of types of optical adapters for forming an image of a subject detachable from the connecting portion on an image sensor, and the optical device In a measurement endoscope apparatus for connecting one of the adapters and measuring an image signal of the image sensor by image processing, a menu display process for performing a selection operation based on display data previously associated with the plurality of optical adapters A measurement processing means for performing a measurement process based on a selection result by the menu display process.

(Additional Item 2) The plurality of types of optical adapters are two types of optical adapters, a stereo measurement adapter required for performing stereo measurement and a normal measurement adapter required for performing normal comparison measurement. The measurement endoscope apparatus according to additional item 1, characterized in that:

(Supplementary Note 3) The measurement processing means performs a measurement process after releasing the zoom function in response to a measurement execution operation by a user when the zoom function is operating. Item 2. The measurement endoscope device according to Item 1.

(Supplementary Note 4) The measurement processing means includes: a first process for reading optical information from a recording medium on which optical data of the stereo measurement adapter is recorded; A second process for reading the position information, a third process for obtaining a position error from the position information and the position information of the main endoscope and the stereo measurement adapter obtained at the time of production, and the optical data from the position error. A fourth process of correcting an image, a fifth process of performing coordinate conversion of an image to be measured based on the corrected optical data, and a three-dimensional coordinate of an arbitrary point by matching two images based on the converted image. The measurement endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement endoscope apparatus is configured to include a sixth process to be determined.

(Supplementary Note 5) When the second processing is performed by taking in the shape of the mask provided on the optical adapter and comparing the shape with the position of the mask at the time of production, the measurement processing means performs the imaging. 5. The measurement endoscope apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the gain of the element and the shutter speed are maintained at constant values.

(Supplementary Note 6) The measurement processing means executes the first to fourth processes on the stereo measurement adapter, and attaches and detaches the result as environmental data to the measurement endoscope apparatus. 5. The measurement endoscope apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the measurement endoscope apparatus records the information on a compact flash memory card. That is, the recording of the measurement environment data and the endoscope image data was configured on separate memory cards.

(Supplementary Note 7) When performing stereo measurement or comparative measurement, the measurement processing means designates at least three or more points in an endoscopic image on a screen, and 2. The measurement endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement is performed so as to obtain the total length.

(Supplementary Item 8) When performing stereo measurement or comparative measurement, the measurement processing means designates a plurality of points in an endoscopic image on a screen and connects the rank points so as to form a line segment. The measurement endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area of each part surrounded by the line segment is obtained, and the total area is measured by summing the areas.

(Additional Item 9) The measurement endoscope apparatus according to additional item 1, wherein the measurement processing unit performs the measurement process irrespective of a measurement execution operation by a user.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In addition to preventing the execution of measurement methods that are not compatible with the optical adapter, it also makes it possible to perform measurements that are compatible with the optical adapter with simple operations, improving operability during measurement and improving inspection efficiency. It is possible to do. This makes it possible to provide a measurement endoscope apparatus that is very easy to use and can perform high-performance measurement.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a measurement endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of the measurement endoscope apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an endoscope distal end portion provided with a stereo measurement adapter.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an endoscope image with a stereo measurement adapter attached.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a distal end portion of an endoscope to which a normal optical adapter is attached.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an endoscope image provided with a normal optical adapter.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a control operation which is a feature of the CPU of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary perspective view showing the configuration of the remote controller shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of an optical adapter selection screen displayed on the LCD.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an image of a mask shape of a stereo measurement adapter.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of a measurement image between two points.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image for which a total length is obtained.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of an image for calculating an area.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another example of an image for which an area is to be obtained.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Measurement endoscope apparatus, 11 ... Endoscope insertion part, 12 ... Control unit, 13 ... Remote controller, 14 ... Liquid crystal monitor (LCD), 17 ... Face mount display (FMD), 18 ... FMD adapter, 19 ... Speaker 20 Microphone 21 Personal computer 22 PCMCIA memory card 23 Compact flash memory card 24 Endoscope unit 25 Control unit (CCU) 26 CPU (control unit) 27 ROM 28 RAM, 29 RS-232CI / F, 30 PC card I / F, 31 USB I / F, 32 audio signal processing circuit, 33 video signal processing circuit, 34, 35, 40 objective lens, 36, 41: illumination lens, 37: stereo measurement adapter, 38: solid Fixed ring, 39: endoscope tip, 42: normal optical adapter, 43: imaging element.

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G01B 11/245 G01B 11/30 A 11/28 G02B 23/26 C 11/30 H04N 7/18 C G02B 23/26 M H04N 7/18 G01B 11/24 K N F-term (reference) 2F065 AA01 AA04 AA21 AA49 AA58 AA60 DD00 DD06 EE05 EE08 FF04 FF05 FF42 FF61 JJ03 JJ05 JJ26 LL06 LL30 PP01 PP21 PP22 QQ23 QQ24 QQ25 QQ26 QQ28 QQ37 QQ38 SS01 SS02 SS13 2H040 BA15 BA22 DA52 GA02 GA11 4C061 DD03 FF35 FF40 HH51 JJ11 JJ17 5C054 CC05 CC07 ED03 FC15 FD01 FE16 GA04 HA05

Claims (1)

[Claims] A connection portion provided at a distal end portion of an endoscope; a plurality of types of optical adapters for forming an image of a subject detachably attached to the connection portion on an imaging device; and one of the optical adapters A measurement endoscope apparatus that measures an image signal of the image sensor by image processing, wherein a menu display process for performing a selection operation using display data previously associated with the plurality of optical adapters; And a measurement processing means for performing a measurement process based on the selection result.